Chapter 101: Sterlington City

Zarah was boarding the airplane going to Sterlington City for the Business Summit. The plane was about to take off.

The passengers were settling down in their seats. The flight attendants were busy assisting the passengers in settling down.

Zarah was not alone on this trip. Mrs. Richard and Hope were with her.

Hope and Zarah were seated together while Mrs. Richard was on their right.

They were riding economy. Their school funded their travel and accommodation.

Zarah saw other representatives from other Universities in the city boarding the same plane.

She had seen a few familiar people in their groups. They were her rivals in competitions before.

"Are you okay, sister?" Hope asked Zarah.

"I'm good," Zarah answered unenthusiastically.

Hope was unaware of what happened to Zarah. However, she was aware of Xavier's assassination incident.

Hope got busy with schoolwork. Hence, she was so surprised when she was offered this opportunity at the last minute.

Xavier had told her to watch Zarah while they were in Sterlington City. He still had some things to look after in Oakridge City.

They had finally found Rhea. She was held captive at the mental hospital under Carla Kent's name.

Rhea had lost her sanity after being constantly drugged by Carla Kent's people.

Zarah didn't ask Kelsey about Dwight's condition, as she could tell he was devastated.

They rescued a few trafficked victims from that facility, too.

The police, accompanied by people from Interpol, arrested the doctors and other staff working in that facility.

The police investigators also visited the mansion the other day. They wanted to verify the information they had received regarding the Gil Hotel incident.

They asked for Zarah's statement about the incident. Zarah was not in trouble, at least. However, she received a reprimand from her superiors in Country H due to her recklessness.

Good thing those two were wanted criminals and were under their radar.

Zarah used this opportunity to pin Carla Kent's name on the incident.

Xavier and his legal time were working hard to include this in the charges against her. Antonio became the witness in exchange for immunity.

They managed to take Dwight's name out of the case.

However, Dwight was still waiting for his punishment from Xavier and Zarah.

Meanwhile, Zarah and Xavier had not talked since that incident in her study room.

Xavier was about to confront her, but his phone rang.

Zarah was thankful for the interruption. She fled inside her room and locked herself up.

She was thankful that Xavier had to go to the office that day due to an emergency.

He came home very late every night, and he would leave very early in the morning.

Zarah and Xavier had a cold war after the incident.

Perhaps both of their pride had gotten the worst of them.

Xavier had tried to call Zarah, but she would ignore it. She had even blocked his number.

She made sure to avoid him every step of the way. Shame and guilt consumed her.

After many hours of flying, their plane finally landed.

Zarah, Hope, and Mrs. Richard were waiting for the hotel's shuttle service outside the airport.

Zarah could feel that Hope was a little anxious. She could feel that something was off with Hope during the entire flight.

Nevertheless, she thought Hope was experiencing flight anxiety. However, she realized that it was not the case.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes. I'm fine." Hope answered while she was looking down.

Hope was trying to hide her face. She was trying to avoid someone.

Zarah looked around her.

'So, this is Sterlington City.' Zarah thought.

It was like what she had imagined. Sterlington City was highly urbanized and very developed. They lived with advanced technology. Oakridge City was a highly urbanized and developed city, too. Moreover, Oakridge City didn't lag when it came to technology.

The environment between the cities was very different. People in Sterlington City were always in a rush. They looked so black and white. Meanwhile, Oakridge City was full of vibrance.

The atmosphere was heavy, too. Perhaps it was because of the weather. It was much colder in Sterlington than in Oakridge City. Good thing she had packed winter clothes.

The summit would properly start by Monday. However, the school decided to send them off Friday afternoon.

That way, the students would have time to settle down in their accommodation. And also, they have time to look around the city.

The summit was for three days. They had to attend seminars and lectures for three days at Sterlington University.

They had invited a distinguished person to the said event. The organizers had not disclosed the person's identity yet.

Meanwhile, Hope heaved a sigh of relief when the person she was trying to avoid left the airport and didn't recognize her.

She dared not to look at the black sedan when it drove in front of them.

She was thankful that Zarah didn't ask about her bizarre behavior.

She didn't expect to see her aunt on the same flight.

Finally, their ride arrived.

Their shuttle bus stopped in front of the Lockhart Grand Hotel.

Zarah had a bad feeling about this. She felt like Xavier would appear out of nowhere as long as she stayed in this hotel.

The facade of the building represented the name itself.

She was sure that this hotel was not cheap. Perhaps, Silver Oak had spent a lot of money on their accommodation.

Both country didn't use the same currency. Country A's dollar was greater than Country Z's.

Mrs. Richard went to the hotel's reception to confirm their booking.

Zarah and Hope sat on the couch to wait for Mrs. Richard.

However, one of the hotel staff came to them.

"Only guests are allowed to sit on the couch," the staff said arrogantly.

Zarah was stunned to hear the arrogance and hostility of the staff.

Wait, they should make the guests feel comfortable. Yet, she was treating them the opposite.

"Excuse me?" Hope asked the staff.

She had never once experienced such hostile treatment from a hotel staff before.

The Fisher Family might not be the richest, but they were one of the elite families of Country A.

In Country A, the treatment would depend on the person's status.

Since they were tourists, the people here treated them as a low life.

Zarah was intrigued and annoyed at the same time.

She looked at Mrs. Richard at the reception and wondered what took her long.

Country A and Country Z didn't speak the same language. However, both countries knew to speak English.

Therefore, the language barrier was not a problem.

"I don't have to repeat myself, Miss. I'm sure you know how to speak English, right?" the staff answered.

"We have a reservation. Our companion is talking to the receptionist to check in." Zarah interrupted.

"Miss, we are not walk-ins, Miss," Hope added.

Hope saw how the expression of the staff changed.

She knew how difficult it was to book a room in this hotel. Thanks to Xavier, they had an executive suite waiting for them. However, this was a last-minute arrangement. Hence, she had expected that something like this would occur.

Hope and Zarah ignored her and went to the reception.

"Mrs. Richard, is there a problem?" Hope asked Mrs. Richard.

"They had been ignoring me, Miss Thomas. I don't know why." Mrs. Richard said.

"Excuse me!" Hope spoke to get the two receptionist's attention.

"Excuse me, Miss! Are you both just going to ignore us here?" Hope was starting to get annoyed.

"Don't you know I can file a formal complaint to the management?" Hope continued in Country A's language.

This time, the receptionist looked at Hope.

"Are you a local?" the receptionist asked in the same language.

"Yes. My name is Hope Thomas. Go and check. We're from Silver Oak University." Hope answered with confidence.

The receptionist did her job and started looking.

She could have used her real name in enrolling at Silver Oak University. However, she decided to use Thomas instead of Fisher.

Thomas was also one of the elite families in Country A.

"Twentieth floor. Room 2007," the receptionist said while giving the key card.

"Thank you." Hope grabbed the key card and turned to Zarah and Mrs. Richard.

"Let's go!"

"That was quick." Mrs. Richard complimented Hope.

"I'm very sorry for their hostility Mrs. Richard. This attitude is what I hate about the people here. They had this superiority complex. I'm glad I moved to Oakridge City." Hope said while walking.

Hope made sure that every staff could hear her.

"They acted like they're the most superior race in the world. When in reality, they are inferior when it comes to morals, values, and attitude."

"Hope. They can hear you, you know." Zarah reminded Hope.

"I know. And I want these people to know how disappointed I am."

She only suffered mistreatment at home. However, everyone respected her when she stepped outside.

She enjoyed a lot of privileges since she was one of the Fishers.

Hope continued her rant until they reached their room. Hope opened the room, and they entered.

There was only one bed in the room. However, three people would be staying in this room.

"I think there's a mistake with the booking," Zarah said.

Just then, they heard a knock on the door.

Zarah went to the door and checked who it was before opening it.

She saw a man dressed in a suit.

He didn't look like one of the hotel staff, though.

Hence Zarah hesitated to open the door for him.

Zarah stood by the door and observed the man through the hole.

"What's wrong?" Hope asked her.

"Well, someone's standing outside. I don't feel like this man is a good person," Zarah said.

Hope went to peep into the hole. Hope finally understood why Zarah made that comment.

Hope recognized the pin on the man's coat.

"Don't worry, sister. He won't bite us." Hope slightly opened the door and talked to him.

"I'm here for Mrs. Lockhart."

"Okay," Hope responded and looked at Zarah.

"He's here for you. Someone wants to see you."

"Who?" Zarah asked in confusion.

"Please follow me, Madam. Our Master is waiting." the man added.

"Don't worry, sis. You're in safe hands," Hope said with a smile.

***